Cold Winter Nights
by LovaLlama
Summary: John Egbert is the new kid at school. Dave Strider is the "cool kid". Rose LaLonde is the caring relative. Jade Harley is the over-attached ex-girlfriend. So what will happen when Strider starts falling for Egbert? Go ahead and kill me, my summaries suck. Hope you like it though, please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Winter had come fast that year, especially for the state of Texas, where the winter wind bit at people's skin in early October. In this southern state, a cool kid was standing out in the cold, wearing a smooth poker face as he walked to school. Luckily, the building wasn't very far, and he was able to prevent himself from shivering. After all, cool kids didn't shiver.

The money for his lunch jingled in his pocket with every step he made, and he slowly blocked out the annoying noise. He let his mind wander about, thinking of nothing in particular as he walked up the steps to the large high school that he was forced to attend ten months a year. There he was greeted by a friendly teacher, and with a nod of acknowledgement, the blonde made his way to the cafeteria.

He never looked forward to school. It was boring, and homework kept him from doing anything fun for more than an hour. Of course, he did his homework and kept up his grades,  
mostly because he knew Bro would kick his ass if he didn't. He supposed there was that one positive side to school though. During it, Bro tried not to strife with him. The reason for this was... Well what was he to say if a teacher saw a cut or a bruise, or maybe even a scar, that was caused by a strife?

He cut off the irrelevant thoughts as he slid into one of the booths that the cafeteria contained. It was still pretty early, so the room was pretty much deserted except for a few others. He took this as a good time to turn on some music, taking out the red buds and placing them in his ears. Music instantly blasted through the buds, loud enough to block out noise, but not too loud to where others would hear.

More people filled the cafeteria, and the room was full of chatter by the time the bell rang to signal first period. Somehow, the ringing of the school bell was heard over his music, and the Strider reluctantly turned his mp3 off, stuffing it and his headphones into his pocket. He fixed the placement of his dark shades before standing, walking to the third floor as quickly as possible. He didn't want to be late again, not with as much he had been late to classes lately.

He managed to scramble into the classroom a minute or two before the bell, and saw an unfamiliar kid talking to the teacher. He was short, a few inches shorter than Dave, and had dark hair that was a little messy, but not too much, going out to the sides. When he turned around, it was apparent that he had buck teeth, but they weren't large and obnoxious, they were small, and surprisingly a bit...cute.

The Strider had no more time to survey the new kid as the teacher snapped at the class, telling everyone to sit down in their proper seats and to quiet down. He took his usual place in the back, slouching a bit in his chair as he shook some of his blonde hair out of his eyes. The teacher proceeded to take role, and then talked a bit to the bucktooth boy, pointing to the seat next to Dave. The student nodded in what seemed to be understanding before walking over and sitting in the desk he had been assigned.

With that, class began like normal. The teacher droned on about numbers and letters, and Dave struggled to keep up, trying to fight off drowsiness. He snuck a few glances at the boy next to him, who was taking notes on the lesson. He was wearing a white shirt with a green slug-looking thing in the middle of it, and khaki cargo shorts that went down to his knees.

He stopped looking at the student when the mathematics teacher snapped at him for not paying attention. Crossing his arms, he rested his head on the desk and let his mind wander as minutes slowly passed and class continued at a dreadful pace. He sighed in relief when the teacher finally stopped talking, giving everyone five minutes to talk or do whatever.

Dave spent the time to listen to music, closing his eyes and relaxing as the sounds flowed smoothly into his ears. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before the bell rang, and he was forced to put away his only source of happiness. He was about to walk out the door when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Looking up, he found that the hand belonged to the teacher.

"Strider," she addressed him curtly, "I want you to help out this kid." She had grabbed the bucktooth guy by his arm, and kept him by her side for now, "Show him around the school, and get him where he needs to go. I've already told your teachers to excuse any tardies you might get." Without saying anything else, she pushed the two boys through the door, letting in the small line of unenthusiastic students that had been gathering on the wall.

Dave cleared his throat before holding out a hand, "Sup, name's Dave." He let the sentence flow out smoothly, keeping the blank poker face. He stared at the shorter boy through the dark shades that he always kept on, waiting to see his reaction.

"Nice to meet you, Dave, my name's John." The boy smiled and shook his hand before pulling back, allowing the blonde to stuff both of his fists into the pockets of his red jacket. John stared up at him, "So, uh, do you know where Ms. Kolt's Literature class is?"

Dave was a bit shocked by the question, but made sure not to show his surprise as he responded in an almost monotone voice, "Yeah, I have her next, just follow me." With that he walked past the black-haired boy, leading him cross a hallway or two and then down to the first floor. They made it to class, and instead of taking his seat like he usually did, the Strider brought his follower to the teacher, who raised a curious brow.

"He's new here." The taller of the two explained. The teacher looked at Egbert, and then smiled a little, "Oh, so you're John Egbert?" She questioned.

"Yes ma'am." John answered with a toothy smile. Ms. Kolt began to flood with him information of the class and what they were learning, etc etc. She went on about the textbooks and stuff they were going to read before she finally stopped talking, making sure he knew where he'd be sitting. Coincidentally, it was near the cool kid, the seat in front of him in fact.

Class started as usual, and the students were soon put to work. The class seemed to last longer than the last, but was really only about five or ten minutes longer in reality. Eventually the bell sounded, and Dave leaned on John's desk as he waited for his companion to put everything up.

"C'mon John, what's your next class?" He asked, hoping his voice didn't sound too keen. He found himself looking forward to showing this kid around, and maybe even befriending him. Instead of the expected rude reply, he got another optimistic smile and a bubbly voice.

"I have Photography next."

'Well that sucks.' The blonde thought to himself, but didn't allow his face to show any emotion. "Photography? That's cool. I have P.E., but your class ain't too far, I can take you there." He cleared his throat and the two walked out the door.

"So, Dave, you're in the same year right?" The black-haired boy asked as he followed his newfound friend.

"Yeah." The tallest replied, fixing his shades as he made his way across the courtyard and into a large hall, "Your class is right there, bro." He said in his smooth voice, pointing to one of the doors lined up against the wall.

"Thank you!" John said, "Uh, I guess I'll meet you over here after class so you can show me where my next class is? Oh, only if you don't mind." He paused beside the door to bright room as he waited on a response.

"Yeah, 'course." With that, the teenager was walking off to his own class, entering it a few seconds late. Neither of the coaches seemed to notice, or if they did they understood why he was late, and he stood at the small area he was given as a 'role spot'. Once they checked off role, all the students were sent to change out in clothes better suited for gym, and then they were left to a variety of options.

Settling on walking, Dave put his headphones in his ears and thought of the new boy. He was a lot different, insanely perky and bubbly, especially being in a new school. Most of the guys in this school weren't like that. A lot of the guys here were greedy douchebags with no common sense. They thought anything an everything was theirs to take and expected only the best. Any guy that wasn't like that was either a loner or gay.

That was another thing. This school didn't exactly approve of homosexuals. Of course, none of the staff or teachers cared, but ninety percent of the male students and some of the chicks did, even going as far as using sexuality as a threat. It made all the truly gay guys hide themselves, sometimes asking girls out, even if they truly didn't have interest, just to pretend. Society was awful...

The bell rang, and Dave was forced to put up his music, instantly walking to the classroom the black-haired boy would be standing by. As expected, he was leaning against the wall. The only thing different was his expression, he wasn't smiling.

"Where's the smile, Egbert?" Dave asked, coughing softly into his hand before shoving both of his fists into the pockets of his jacket.

A smile appeared on John's face almost immediately, showing his overbite. "Hi Strider." He said, turning to face the blonde.

"Yo. So what's your next class?" He looked at John through his dark shades, tilting his neck to the side and hearing a satisfying crunch.

"Uh I have Government." The smaller boy replied, holding out the piece of paper that contained his schedule.

The sheet was taken quickly, and Dave quickly scanned the sheet, trying his best to memorize the schedule in the few seconds he could spare, "Oh that class." He stood straighter, relaxing as he handed back the paper. "It's right back this way."

John was led back through the courtyard, and up to the second floor, until Dave stopped in front of a classroom door. "Here you are." He said in his smooth voice.

Saying a quick 'thank you', John scurried into the classroom, leaving Dave to nod and quickly walk to his own class, Health. It took a bit longer to get there, but he did, and somehow on time. He sat next to his friend, slouching a little in the chair, "Hey Rose."

The female looked over at him. She was loosely related, like a cousin or something. Dave wasn't quite sure, and he didn't really care. She shared most of his features: Pale skin, blonde hair, etc. These characteristics actually showed the fact that they were related, though no one really cared enough to say anything. She wore black lipstick today, and smiled, "Hello Dave."

"Any idea what we're doing today?" He asked, glancing up at the whiteboard to see if there were any clues on there. Finding none, he sighed and shook some blonde locks out of his face.

Rose just shrugged, and was about to say something, but then the bell rang and the teacher walked in, pulling in a small stand with a TV sitting on it. "Today we are going to watch a documentary on...guess what, Health!" He smiled at the students, who simply sighed and groaned in response, watching as he plugged the TV cord in and then played whatever DVD was in the player.

Dave didn't pay any attention to the documentary, starting to doze off. Figuring he had a good thirty minutes left, he laid his head on his desk and closed his eyes, appearing to be watching through his dark shades.

He was awoken by the bell, and by Rose, who was shaking his shoulder gently, "Really, Dave? How are you supposed to pass the class if you fall asleep during the video?" She was asking, stepping back when he lifted his head and stretched across his desk before standing.

"I'm doing fine in here, plus I bet the video isn't even that important." He responded simply, waving the warning off with his hand and walking out of the door, leaving his relative to follow suit. They entered the cafeteria, and stepped into the quickest line possible. After getting his lunch, consisting of a ham sandwich and a bottle of water, Dave looked around for a place to sit.

One booth caught his eye. In it sat one kid, who was eating his lunch alone. A small smirk tugged at the teenager's lips as he recognized who this kid was, and nudged Rose, who was now beside him. She looked up at him with a curious gaze, her impatient frown not wavering as she waited for him to choose a spot.

"Let's sit over here." Dave said simply, dropping his smirk and striding over to the booth he had previously been staring at. He slid in next to the single occupant, making him slide a bit to the left. "Sup Egbert?" He asked simply, opening the package that contained his sandwich.

Rose sat on the other side, not saying anything about the unknown male before him, letting the bucktooth reply to her relative after giving him a surprised glance.

"Oh uh hi Dave, you can call me John you know." He grinned, scooting over more so he was more comfortable.

"Yeah I know." The blonde responded, "Oh, this is Rose." He nodded to the pale girl, who didn't have anything but a bottle of water, which she was taking a sip from. Once she swallowed, she nodded a hello.

John gave her a smile, and Dave's lips twisted into a smirk, "How's your class goin'?" He asked as he bit into the ham sandwich, chewing and swallowing.

"Pretty good, there's this one girl that's really nice."

"Oh that's cool." Dave coughed, "Do I get to meet her?"

"Yeah! Here she is now." John said, pointing to the side of the booth.

Dave looked up to see who it was, shifting the hair out of his vision.

'_Fuck it's Jade.'_

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**I hope you all like this ;3; It actually took me a bit to write ._."**

**So why is Dave all Mr. Cursey pants all of a sudden?  
**

**THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW okay youll know next chapter actually...  
**

**Please R&R and thanks for reading ^u^  
**


	2. Just an Update

**This is just an update, nothing special. I am working on Chapter 2 but I do write multiple things and right now I have very little inspiration for this story. While I will keep updating this until it is finished, my guesstimate for chapters would probably be an update once a month. :c I'm sorry guys.**

**I want to take this chance to reply to my reviews YOU ALL ARE GUESTS WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU well maybe you'll see this**

**"Nepeta Leijon": :3 ill be sure to write more when i can, DaveJohn is one of my favorite pairings too!**

**"Guest": oh uh okay well yeah but okay. :/ I'm guessing you didn't like it then?... Sorry. .**

**"Guest": I will be sure to update! :3 I do not want to be one of those people either Dx**

**"fragrent harbor": Thank you! and maybe she willlll c; **

**I also have 12 people following and I want to thank all of you Dx I'm always welcome for talking to so if you want to just chat then send me a message! :3 thank you guys and sorry this isn't a chapter ffff**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, sorry for taking so longgg. I have school and stuff, and I hang out with friends and stuff like that, so when I do feel like writing I usually have inspiration. this chapter isn't too long, but I hope it's ok! No review answers this time around, I'm in a hurry. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**

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John didn't seem to notice anything wrong, seeing as Jade was her usual perky self and Dave displayed no emotion. He smiled at the raven haired girl that now sat in front of him, "Hey Jade, this is-"

"Oh silly, I know who Dave is!" She interrupted with a giggle, waving her hand as if brushing off John's introduction. "Its nice to see you again, Dave!~ How have you been?"

For once in his life the Strider felt...nervous. He coughed, making sure he appeared completely chill, and nodded towards Jade, "Sup Harley. I'm fine." He made sure to keep his replies short and to the point.

"Hello Jade." Rose finally spoke up, smiling warmly. She was always nice to people, unless they weren't nice to her, so naturally she would show such kindness to an old friend.

"Oh, hi Rose! We haven't talked in forever!" The bubbly female responded with a grin, "I assume you're doing well?"

"You would assume correctly." She brushed some of her blonde hair behind her ear.

The four fell into a silence before Dave decided he would be the one to break it. He sat up and cleared his throat before addressing the buck tooth boy next to him, "So, Egbert, what's the rest of your schedule like?"

"Uhhhh..." He replied with a mouth full of chicken, swallowing as he glanced at the afternoon portion of classes, "After the rest of Government, I have P.E. and then Chemistry, and lastly Home Economics."

A smirk appeared on the Strider's pale face, "Sweet," he said smoothly, "That means we have the last two classes together."

"Neat!" John grinned, seeming to be genuinely excited to know that he would be seeing more of Dave. He opened his mouth to say more, but suddenly everyone was filing out of the cafeteria, the chatter of conversation growing in volume.

Dave had turned to talk to John more, but the boy was already being pulled away by Jade. With a sigh, he turned back to Rose, who seemed amused, "Well is Mr. Strider actually crestfallen about losing his friend?"

"No chance, LaLonde." He responded smoothly, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lips.

The female 'tsk'ed him, "Dave, you know it's bad to lie, don't you?" She was teasing now, although her facial expression didn't exactly show it.

"Well that's good because I'm not lying." The cool kid replied, "Besides, he'll be back. No one can resist this sexy Strider body."

Instead of replying, Rose rolled her eyes and sighed, mumbling something under her breath. Dave shook it off and they entered their classroom, quickly set to work on some packet.

A few class periods had passed and Dave was now making his way to Chemistry, where he would be able to spend the next two periods with John. The blonde couldn't help but feel a little excited, but submersed the feeling with a poker face. This action didn't work quite as well as he hoped, and his thoughts started focusing on that buck tooth boy again.

"Daaave!" A familiar voice sang behind him, and the cool kid turned to see who had called his name.

"Oh. Hey Egbert." Dave mentally cursed himself for completely passing his friendwighout even realizing it.

The shorter boy half-skipped to Dave, and with a grin said, "Chemistry right? Will you lead me there?" A playful pout was formed by pushing out his lower lip a bit more than natural.

Dave couldn't help but take a few seconds to discretely examine those lips of John's, before nodding, "'Course. It's not too far but we should probably get moving." He didn't wait for an answer, and continued walking in the direction he had previously been pursuing.

It wasn't long before the blonde could hear footsteps behind him, and a small smirk spread across his face as the footsteps soon matched his.

The two made it to their Chemistry class with only a few seconds to spare, and John approached the teacher as Dave slid casually into his assigned seat.

He couldn't keep track of John after that, for the teacher sweet the class to work. As soon as they were done doing a 'warm-up' and a worksheet, the teacher pulled out a single sheet of paper. His eyes trailed down the list as he started naming people, two names at a time. Dave listened carefully for his name, but he never heard it.

"Alright, whoever was with your name is your lab partner."

The blonde narrowed his eyes behind his shades, and strolled up to the teachers desk, "Uh, Mr. Smith?"

The older man swiveled his chair to face Dave, a black brow raised, "What is it Strider?"

"You didn't seem to call my name."

"Oh? Hmm..."

Dave rolled his eyes, but maintained his blank expression, waiting impatiently for the teacher to figure out who he was working with.

"Egbert!"

The Strider forced himself not to turn and look at the raven-haired boy, and barely acknowledged his presence when he walked up.

"Yes sir?"

"Strider needs a partner, and you're new here, so how about you two be partners?"

"Okay!" Excitement and happiness could both be heard in John's voice.

Dave mentally clapped for joy at his luck, and his lips urged him to smile. However, he settled for a smirk, and nodded, "Sweet."


	4. Author's Note

Hey guys guess who!

Wow a lot of crap has happened these past few months, and truthfully I forgot all about this site. But I'm back now, haha. So I'll be continuing this ASAP!

Anyone here like OFF? I love that game. Think I should make a fanfiction for that one? Hmm. I'll worry about this one first.

Expect a Chapter 3 ASAP, loves. Thank you for being oh-so patient.


	5. Chapter 3

When class was over, Dave slung his bag over his shoulder. He waited at the door for John, keeping his poker face.

"Hey Dave!" John called, bouncing up to the taller male. "Now which way is Home Ec?"

"This way." He nodded down the hall as he began walking his friend to their next class. "Have you taken Home Ec before?"

"Nope, this is a new thing for me." The bucktooth boy admitted a bit sheepishly, "We didn't have it available at my old school."

"Really? Where did you move from?"

"Washington. Way up north."

Dave cocked a brow, "Wow, you moved really far, huh?"

"Mhm!" John chuckled, "Dad didn't plan on moving, but then he got a good business deal, and so here we are!"

The Strider nodded his head in understanding as they approached the classroom. He opened the door for John, letting the small boy inside before he walked in himself.

"Well, Egbert, here is Home Ec, where we have done absolutely nothing all year except sew and calculate. We are apparently cooking until the end of the year, so yeah, food." His voice remained monotone and emotionless, as he preferred, and showed no excitement.

"Food is yummy." John giggled, "But, uh, where's the teacher? I should probably talk to them."

"That would be a good idea. She's over there." He gestured to the teacher and the black-haired boy thanked him before skipping over to the instructor.

Dave watched them for a few seconds until he heard a familiar voice in his ear, "Starin' at the new kid, Strider?"

He turned around to face a taller boy, sighing, "What do you want, Gamzee?"

Gamzee was tall and lanky, with messy black hair. He was known for the face-paint that he wore often, in school as well as out, and for the black beanie that rested on top of his head. Dave knew him as the asshole that bothered him constantly.

"Nothin, Davey, but I know what you want~" The juggalo licked his lips as he smiled widely.

"What are you talking about?" A frown spread across Dave's face as he struggled to keep up his poker face.

Gamzee chuckled, hooking his thumbs up in his pocket and leaning down so his face was only inches away from the Strider's, "Those shades don't fool me." He whispered, and before Dave could retaliate, the bell rang and Gamzee was sitting down.

"Strider, please take your seat." The strict teacher snapped.

"Yes, ma'am..." Dave grumbled as he took his seat in the back. When the teacher couldn't notice, he slouched and kicked his feet onto the table before him.

He leaned his head back, hoping to get a little sleep before he had to actually do anything. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

"Dave. Strider." The teacher hissed through gritted teeth. "What did I tell you about putting your feet on the desks!"

The student frowned as he sat up, planting his feet on the ground, "Sorry ma'am."

"Anyways class, today we are making eggs in toast."

"Ew. Eggs." Dave muttered under his breath, glancing around the room.

"So, pair up and get near a grill."

Dave sighed as he stood, waiting for the rest of his class to find a partner before walking up to the teacher, "Uh, miss, do you think the new kid could be my partner today?"

"Yeah, whatever." The teacher waved him off before stepping to her own little counter, ready to show the class how to prepare the food they were going to make that day.

Dave didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the woman, so he was definitely surprised when John smiled eagerly and babbled on about what they had to do as he did it.

"This class is already so fun!" He giggled, and Dave shrugged it off.

"Yeah I guess." He replied, watching the smaller boy prepare everything. "Uh, you have fun and just do that."

"Do you not want to? This is really cool."

"Oh, I just want to make sure you have fun ya know. I've been doin' this for half a year, it's your turn now." He smirked at his cleverness, and John seemed to accept his excuse.

The day went as such, with Dave seemingly helping if the teacher happened to glance over or check up on the couple. By the time class was over, he had managed to achieve a good twenty minutes of rest and laziness without even trying.

Once class was over and Dave was getting his things put back in his backpack, John hopped over.

"Yes, Egbert?" Dave asked, looking up at his friend as he slung his red bag over his shoulder.

John didn't reply, staring at Dave and biting his lip as he twiddled his thumbs, "Uhh, well…"

"What is it?"

"I was wondering, if possibly, maybe, I could…" He trailed off again and Dave cocked a brow, wondering what could possibly make the short kid so nervous.

"Get your number?"

"Oh yeah, sure." Dave smirked a bit, "Too nervous to ask the hottest guy in school for his number, eh John?" He teased as he grabbed a marker from his bag, and took John's arm, writing out the numbers across his skin.

"Oh uh, no!" John giggled. "Thanks! I have to be getting to the bus now, hope to see you tomorrow!" Before Dave could say another thing, John was skipping off, and the Strider was the only one in class.

Once the boy was out of the room, Dave couldn't stop the smile that formed at his lips, and for the first time in almost forever, he actually felt…happy.

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**AN: so yeh this is human!Trolls, ok? QOQ hope thats alright, heh. **

**Gamzee stop being an asshat.**

**Hope you liked it and sorry that it took so long! (:**


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